Free Market Environmentalism: Breaking the Shackles of Regulation | Terry Anderson 2013
20 Nov 2014 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, environmental economics, law and economics, property rights Tags: free market environmentalism, Terry Anderson
Join the Green Tea Party | Terry Anderson
15 Jun 2014 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, environmental economics Tags: Terry Anderson
…ask yourself an important question: Are you really an environmentalist, or are you just “greener than thou.” Membership in the Green tea party requires more than just displaying your green bona fides. It requires proven environmental results and pragmatic environmental policies—not just green rhetoric…
With only two planks, the Green tea party’s platform would make it clear that prosperity and incentives, not bureaucracies, drive environmental improvements.
The first plank is that wealthier is healthier. From the United States to the former Soviet Union, data show that economic growth is necessary for environmental improvement, not the enemy of it. The overwhelming evidence says that economic growth results from secure property rights and a strong rule of law.
Given this, we have a recipe for improving the environment that starts with economic progress and a robust private sector. More federal spending and bureaucratic red tape work against these goals. Environmental quality cannot be secured with taxpayer dollars and environmental protection agency regulations.
The second plank is that incentives matter. The Green tea party would use the carrot—property rights and markets—rather than the regulatory stick to improve environmental quality. Kermit agrees with the great conservationist, Aldo Leopold, who said, “Conservation will ultimately boil down to rewarding the private landowner who conserves the public interest.”
Sustainability only comes from profitability and accountability.
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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